Move Over Brushes, Get Creative with Procreate. Win A Copy With A Comment!

procreate ($4.99) by Savage Interactive Pty Ltd is the newest full-featured painting app to hit the App Store. It’s one of the most refined I have seen for iPad.

Procreate is suitable for both serious artists and casual amateurs and was built specifically for iPad. The interface is clean and intuitive. If you have used any painting app before you should be able to jump right in. If not a comprehensive PDF manual is available for download on the procreate web site.

The first thing that sets procreate apart from other similar apps is the brush selection. There are eight pre-sets, which allow for an amazing amount of configurability.

The stand-out feature, is that procreate is the only app that allows you create and import your own brushes, giving serious artists the tools to create exactly what they need. It’s not limited to brushes, you can customize the eraser and smudge tool too.

Also, right away you notice the speed. There is no lag time, the painting experience is extremely fluid. Paint strokes feel natural. And, the undo/redo option is amazing. It allows for 100 steps in either direction.

While most good painting apps have a smudge tool, something about procreate’s makes it feel very organic. I was able to achieve some lovely results with minimal effort (and even less talent). It’s hard to describe, I suggest you give it a whirl while the app is on sale; the regular price is $7.99.

Working with layers, up to 16, is also a breeze. And, of course you can import photos from the iPad album. It’s obvious Savage Interactive spent a great deal of time considering the user experience, because they produce a fantastic one.

In preparing for this review I got to chat a bit with the Australian developers. They are open, eager for feedback, and responsive. Their customer support is beyond reproach and many updates are planned. If you knew the lengths they went through to get, and test their product on the iPad 2, you’d know these are committed developers.

Procreate is polished and robust enough to take its place alongside any paint program on the App Store. In fact, it rivals some Mac programs I have used, so watch out Brushes and Inspire Pro!

Check out the demo:

As good as procreate is, I would like to see a few things in an update.

The PDF manual is wonderful, but in-app documentation would be helpful too.

Also, more sharing features would be great. I’m in the (bad) habit of posting everything I create on Facebook and procreate is an app that inspires me to create a lot. For now you can only save to the photo album or share by email.

But, those wishes have nothing to do with the app itself. The only interface wish I have is for a larger output canvas.

Even if you miss the sale, this app is worth every penny of the regular price. Procreate is simply wonderful.

Whether you are a serious artists, or a just enjoy painting on your iPad, procreate is an app that will start your creative juices flowing and leave you with beautiful results.

Want to win a free copy of procreate? Leave a comment that shows off your creativity. Keep it clean, otherwise, let your imagination go. I have only one copy, so make it great!